**Source:** Lenin Collection X, p. 19
**Date:** 1903-12-12

An unfinished draft of a letter has been preserved in Lenin's archive from F. V. Lengnik, the foreign representative of the Central Committee, addressed to G. V. Plekhanov, also on the question of publishing the protocols of the League Congress. This letter represents an unrealized attempt by Lengnik to involve the Party Council in resolving this question. We present this letter here for completeness in illuminating the episode surrounding the publication of the League protocols. From the document presented, it is evident that the question of printing the League protocols underwent no preliminary discussion among the members of the Central Committee who were abroad at that time, and that F. V. Lengnik, at the moment of writing the letter, did not share the opinion of Lenin and other League-Bolsheviks concerning the necessity of printing the protocols in full without any alterations. F. V. Lengnik himself at this moment was decidedly opposed to the publication of the protocols altogether, but not at all because "the majority wished to conceal its conduct at the League Congress," but rather because he "was struck with horror by that bouquet, which wafted [to him] in the face" upon becoming acquainted with Martov's speech in the already-printed sheets of the protocols. It has not been possible to establish precisely why F. V. Lengnik abandoned his intention to use Plekhanov's mediation and, through the Party Council, obstruct the publication of the protocols. It may be supposed that he altered his initial intention under the influence of Lenin, anticipating that later he would officially, in the name of the Central Committee and in the name of the majority, propose to the opposition to "consign all this filth to oblivion, on condition of ensuring peace and good relations in the party" (see below Lenin's letter to the editorial board of Iskra on behalf of Lengnik of December 12, document 129, p. 50).

# 118.
**19107**

**F. V. LENGNIK TO G. V. PLEKHANOV.**

**[Between December 2 and 12, 1903. Geneva.]**

Most esteemed comrade!

Only just now I happened to see at a comrade's place individual sheets of the League protocols. [Having looked through Martov's speech in print] Having looked through them, I was struck with horror by that bouquet, which wafted me in the face. If all this is indeed to be published, [this] then for all our enemies this will be a genuine *gaudium*.[^1] Dan proposed [to Lenin] [our] League members to alter something in the protocols, but they refused to do this,[^2] since otherwise the demonstrative departure [of] members of the "majority" [would] be incomprehensible to readers.[^3]

I think that these protocols, not intended for publication, will be used not only by the Bund, Revolutionary Russia, Liberation, but [even] in the "Moscow Gazette" [there] may appear an exultant article on the theme [of the sort of "Our socialists in the role] of "Falsified lists"[^4] and so on and so forth.

[I propose to you, Georgy]

If you agree with me that the publication of the League protocols is undesirable in the interests of the party, then perhaps you would agree to convene together with me (two voices are necessary, after all, to convene the Council) a Council, which could decide **

[^1]: *gaudium* — joy, pleasure. [Ed.]

[^2]: At this point in his letter, F. V. Lengnik testifies that the aforementioned official refusal of Lenin to make any alterations in the text of the protocols (above, p. 19) expressed not his individual opinion, but the opinion of all League-Bolsheviks.

[^3]: This refers to the departure of League members, supporters of the majority, from the fourth session of the League Congress after Lenin's declaration of his refusal to participate further in the discussion and to make a concluding statement in protest against the character of Martov's polemics in his counter-report and after the reading of a written declaration from the remaining League-Bolsheviks expressing their solidarity with Lenin and Plekhanov on this matter (see "Lenin Collection" VII, pp. 172-173).

[^4]: By "falsified list," Martov in his counter-report at the League Congress meant the list of candidates for membership in the Central Committee, proposed by someone unknown from among the minority of the Second Party Congress and circulated among Congress members, in the following composition: Stein (E. M. Aleksandrova), Egorov (E. Ya. Levin), Popov (V. N. Rozanov), Trotsky, and Fomin (V. N. Krokhmal). Martov and his supporters later accused the majority of "forging" this list "in the interests of factional struggle" (see "Resolution of the Comradely Arbitration Court (the Gusev case)," with a postscript by L. Martov, Geneva, ed. 1904). More detailed information on this incident can be found in the leaflet by Gorin and Lyadov "The Fourth Person in the Arbitration Court" (reprinted in the Istpart Central Committee collection "How the Party of Bolsheviks Was Born," Leningrad ed. 1925, p. 106) and in the appendix to Lenin's pamphlet "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" — "The Incident of Comrade Gusev with Comrade Deych" (Collected Works, vol. V, p. 484).

[The text of the manuscript breaks off here. [Ed.]]